Craig Elliott says the team spirit at Shaw Lane Aquaforce is excellent
Craig Elliott has hailed the team spirit at new leaders Shaw Lane Aquaforce.
Aquaforce stayed top of the Toolstation NCEL Premier Division after Worksop Town fell to pieces against Barton Town Old Boys at the weekend.
Shaw Lane had a brilliant season regardless of how the season finishes because of their incredible run in the FA Vase which took them to the quarter-finals.
Elliott said: “The team spirit is spot on.
“It goes hand in hand and you don’t get to where you are in the league without having good team spirit.
“It is a difficult time because I have a lot of good players. There were some lads who didn’t get on the pitch on Friday night who are more than good enough to play.
“That’s the hardest thing – keeping everyone happy.
“I’m sure everyone is buying into that we are trying to win this league and that you need a big squad to do that.
“It is probably best team I have had. It is professional in terms of its experience.
“I have a good spine of experience in terms of Anton Foster, James Cotterill, Sam Denton, Steve Istead and Lee Morris.
“They do a lot of my work for me which is important on the pitch. They pass on good information to others.”
The pressure is now on Aquaforce to stay top for the final six games of the campaign.
But, by Elliott’s own admission, Shaw Lane have two hard games coming up.
Aquaforce host Bridlington Town tomorrow night and then head to Barton on Saturday.
Elliott said: “It is a massively difficult week.
“I’m under no-illusions because Barton and Bridlington are two good teams at this level.
“Dave Anderson (Barton) and Gary Allanson (Bridlington) are two good managers.
“They have two excellent teams and they have been in this league a few years.
“Bridlington have had a good season. We had a difficult game at their place even they had a man sent off.
“We have to keep going and we’re a week nearer. We have to keep our heads down and stay grounded and move onto the next game.”
Grant Darley is unavailable, while Stef Holt is a doubt after limping off in the 5-0 victory over Maltby Main.